• Hypnotherapy
• Weight Management
• Stress Management
• Quitting Smoking

About Penny Samuels

I was born in the late 1950s, and raised in Surrey before relocating to the West Country with my family in 1990.  Having lived in Saltash and Ivybridge, I have now relocated to Plymouth city centre. 

The positive influences of my grandmother and mother ensured that from my earliest days I had an interest in natural healing methods, and the phenomenal power of mind over matter.

However, I first developed an interest in hypnotherapy in 1988 when I experienced it myself, to great and lasting effect, at the hands of Brighton-based Wendy Jago, respected author, coach, therapist, consultant, and practitioner of Hypnotherapy and NLP.

I truly believed that something so simple - yet so powerful - should be available to more people in order that they could be helped as I had been.  In the days before the emergence of the masses of information now readily available via the internet, I researched extensively on the subject.  The staff at local bookshops and libraries helped me to obtain texts from acknowledged experts like Dave Elman, Milton Erickson, Charles Tebbetts and Gil Boyne, which I read avidly.

Eventually I gained sufficient working knowledge to allow me to begin practicing hypnosis in a simple way on willing volunteers amongst friends and family.  A particular favourite of mine was 'The Healing Room', a technique I used with my son during his various childhood maladies, as I didn’t believe in pumping his small body full of over-the-counter pharmacy remedies if a holistic alternative was available. 

Following a very varied career, including time with MI5 in central London, I helped establish Greenlife Direct, the mail order division of the highly respected Greenlife Shop (the largest independent health food store in the West Country) in Totnes, Devon.  I went on to co-manage Greenlife Direct for the best part of ten years.  

I decided to make Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy my full-time career and set about formalising my knowledge by gaining nationally recognised qualifications, maintaining an annual programme of continuous professional development, and joining professional governing bodies, all of which enable me to offer a quality service to my clients.

My particular areas of expertise, which have been led both by my personal interests and the requirements of my clients, include the following:

• Weight Management
• Sports Psychology & Performance
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
• Quitting Smoking 
• Memory Boosting/Maximising Learning 
• Personal Development
• Achieving Ambitions
• Past Life Regression
• Fears and Phobias
• Confidence Boosting
• Past Life Regression
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Comfortable Childbirth

Of these, Weight Management is undoubtedly my specialist subject.  I am able to help my clients using not only my many years of expertise as a therapist, but also from the experience and insight I gained as an overweight, unfit, obsessive yo-yo dieter of 26 years’ duration.  Employing the same four-step model I used to successfully treat myself, I help my clients to shed their excess weight and, as importantly, keep it off.  To accompany the clinical work, I am the author of The Ultimate Step-by-Step 'How to Win at Weight Loss' Personal Training Course.

Training and Qualifications:

I have undergone extensive training and hands-on experience over the years.  If you would like to inspect my Diplomas and Affiliation Certificates, they can be viewed on the 'Qualifications' page.

I initially trained with the Hypnotherapy Control Board, the training wing of the International association of Hypno-Analysts, based in Cambridge, where I gained (with an excellent 95% pass) the Diploma of Hypnotherapy and Hypno-Analysis.

I retrained and updated my skills at the Dominic Beirne School of Hypnotherapy & Psychotherapy in Stratford-Upon-Avon, where I became a Master Hypnotist, a Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and gained my Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.

I have also trained with Paul McKenna (who needs no introduction), Richard Bandler (co-creator of NLP), and Tom Nicoli (Director and Principal Instructor of the New England Institute of Hypnosis, internationally-acknowledged expert in Weight Loss, and Founder of World Hypnosism Day). 

I am also a Practitioner of Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR), Critical Incident Debriefing, Hypnoesitherapy, Past Life Regression, and one of the Meridian therapies, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). 

In addition, I am accredited and registered with the General Hypnotherapy Register (Registration No. 734), the registering agency for the General Hypnotherapy Standard Council (GHSC). The Council is comprised of Representatives from both Professional Hypnotherapy Organisations & Training Schools and an elected Committee of Management (which includes lay members of the public).  It is primarily responsible for overseeing the criteria for the ongoing registration of individual practitioners within The General Hypnotherapy Register and setting the criteria for the validation of Practitioner Level Training Courses.

I am a Member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) which currently represents over 800 practitioners within the United Kingdom, and is committed to ensuring the highest possible professional standards amongst its members.  I am also a member of the associated UK Confederation of Hypnotherapy Organisations (UKCHO), the aim of which is to promote the professional regulation of hypnotherapy within the United Kingdom, to ensure that Hypnotherapists are safe and competent to practice, and that they adhere to national standards of ethics and training.

I am also a member of The UK Register of IBS Therapists which provides detailed training to professional hypnotherapists who want to specialise in the field of IBS and hypnosis. Members include medical doctors with complementary medicine training, medical research project experienced therapists, and therapists specialising in IBS treatment.

I am accredited and registered with the Register of Trauma Specialists, which exists to promote the services of trauma support workers and therapists with a special interest in assisting with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and trauma related conditions and syndromes.

Finally, I am a member of the NHS Directory of Complementary and Alternative Practitioners, which is managed by the NHS Trusts Association, and the Central Register of Smoking Cessation Therapists, administered by the GHR.

I regularly attend Training Courses and undertake research in order to update my skills and keep abreast of the latest developments in the fields of Hypnotherapy, Pyschotherapy and NLP.

Penny is pleased to offer the following:

• Initial Free Consultations:
  The free consultations are of around 30 minutes' duration. They provide an excellent opportunity to meet me, discuss your issue(s), satisfy yourself as to my professionalism and ability to help you, and decide upon a personal treatment plan to suit your needs.
• Home Visits:
  In certain exceptional circumstances, I can offer Home Visits*.
• Corporate Work:
  Stress Management, Motivational Speaking, and Quitting Smoking Courses to corporate clients in their places of work.
• Critical Incident Debriefing:
  I work with the Emergency Services, Train Operating Companies, the Armed Forces, and members of the general public, using Critical Incident Debriefing to help prevent, or heal, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Public and Motivational Speaking:
  I am an accomplished and experienced public speaker, and would be delighted to come and talk to your Group, Society, Exhibition, Show etc.
• Weight Management Training Courses for Therapists
• One-day Weight Management Seminars for the public
• Practice-Building courses for C.A.M Therapists

My Diplomas and Membership Certificates can be viewed on the 'Qualifications' page.

My location, travel arrangements, and car parking information can be found on the 'Contact Penny' page of this website.

* Please be aware that an additional fee will be charged to cover travel expenses in all cases.